Gurus of Modern Yoga

Edited by Mark Singleton and Ellen Goldberg

The first collection of cutting-edge essays on the phenomenon of gurus in modern yoga.

Each essay represents an important facet of the modern yoga guru phenomenon.

Gurus of Modern Yoga

Edited by Mark Singleton and Ellen Goldberg

Description

Within most pre-modern, Indian traditions of yoga, the role of the guru is absolutely central. Indeed, it was often understood that yoga would simply not work without the grace of the guru. The modern period saw the dawn of new, democratic, scientific modes of yoga practice and teaching. While teachings and gurus have always adapted to the times and circumstances, the sheer pace of cultural change ushered in by modernity has led to some unprecedented innovations in the way gurus present themselves and their teachings, and the way they are received by their students.

Gurus of Modern Yoga explores the contributions of individual gurus to the formation of the practices and discourses of yoga today. The focus is not limited to India, but also extends to the
teachings of yoga gurus in the modern, transnational world, and within the Hindu diaspora. Each section deals with a different aspect of the guru within modern yoga. Included are extensive considerations of the transnational tantric guru; the teachings of modern yoga's best-known guru, T. Krishnamacharya, and those of his principal disciples; the place of technology, business and politics in the work of global yoga gurus; and the role of science and medicine. As a whole, the book represents an extensive and diverse picture of the place of the guru, both past and present, in contemporary yoga practice.

Gurus of Modern Yoga

Edited by Mark Singleton and Ellen Goldberg

Author Information

Mark Singleton is an Instructor at St. John's College.

Ellen Goldberg is Associate Professor of South Asian Religions at Queen's University.

Contributors:

Joseph S. Alter - teaches anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh Gwilym Beckerlegge - Professor of Modern Religions in the Department of Religious Studies at The Open University, United Kingdom.Jean Byrne - conducts research on the intersection between feminist philosophy and nonduality at the University of QueenslandCharles I. Flores - adjunct professor at John F. Kennedy UniversityTara Fraser - author of a number of popular books on yoga which have been translated into eight languages and which have sold close to a million copiesAnn Gleig - Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Central Florida at OrlandoEllen Goldberg - Associate Professor of South Asian Studies in the School of Religion, Queen's
University, CanadaAndrea R. Jain - Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University IndianapolisDermot Killingley - joint editor of Religions of South Asia (RoSA)Hanna H. Kim - Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Adelphi University, New YorkSuzanne Newcombe - Research Officer at Inform at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Associate Lecturer at the Open UniversityStuart Ray Sarbacker - Assistant Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Philosophy at Oregon State UniversityMark Singleton - teaches at St. John's College, Santa Fe, New MexicoFrederick M. Smith - Professor of Sanskrit and Classical Indian Religions at the University of IowaSmriti Srinivas - Professor in the Department
of Anthropology at the University of California, DavisJoanne Punzo Waghorne - Professor of Religion at Syracuse UniversityMaya Warrier - Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint DavidJoan White - one of the world's leading teachers of Iyengar YogaLola Williamson - assistant professor of Religious Studies and director of Peace Studies at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi

Gurus of Modern Yoga

Edited by Mark Singleton and Ellen Goldberg

Reviews and Awards

"This fascinating collection of essays records the historical and sociological developments within particular yoga communities impacted by modernity, globalism, consumerism, competition, and technology...It is a rich contribution to the field. Recommended."
--CHOICE

"Mark Singleton and Ellen Goldberg have put together an enlightening survey of the leading yoga gurus from around the world within the Hindu diaspora." --Spirituality Practice

"Mark Singleton and Ellen Goldberg have assembled a group of essays that combine critical rigor with sympathetic insight, including many by authors with extensive personal background in the practice of yoga. It is a welcome development that the scholar-practitioner model is becoming an accepted part of the study of Indian religions. This excellent book will likely become the go-to resource for the study of modern gurus and guru-based movements." --Andrew J. Nicholson, Stony Brook University